Roman Reigns reveals he has leukemia, relinquishes WWE belt

Stephen Proctor

What happens in the ring on Raw is normally scripted, but on Monday night, WWE superstar and universal champion Roman Reigns disclosed his very real fight with leukemia. Roman even broke character in telling the audience about his disease.

“The reality is my real name is Joe, and I’ve been living with leukemia for 11 years, and unfortunately it’s back,” Roman said. “Because the leukemia is back, I cannot fulfill my role. I can’t be that fighting champion. And I’m going to have to relinquish the universal championship.”

Roman, whose real name is Leati Joseph Anoa’i, was first diagnosed with leukemia when he was 22 years old. It went into remission, but now that it has returned, he said he wants to go home to focus on his health and family.

He wanted to make one thing very clear, though. “By no means is this a retirement speech,” Roman said. “Because after I’m done whooping leukemia’s ass once again, I’m coming back home.”

There’s been an outpouring from fans and fellow wrestlers alike. The Bella twins and John Cena, among many others, tweeted support for Roman.

Fans gave Roman the sendoff he deserved. Roman left the ring to chants of, “Thank you, Roman.”

WWE Raw airs Mondays at 8 p.m. on USA.

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